The blow came quickly. As the the standing figure moved to intercept the attack with his royal sword, the dark figure sailing toward him suddenly disappeared.
 "Wha--? Where is he?" the standing figure whispered aloud as he turned and looked around quickly. As he did, his cloak billowed out around him as he created a gust of wind with his movement. The figure glanced outward in every direction, yet saw nothing but the barren wasteland.
 The figure was Joshua Derimond, the King of Io.
 His royal, dark outfit was drenched in blood and sweat. His dark cloak was ripped and torn. As he gazed on, he pushed his dangling hair from his face. He had been battling for a long time against the dark figure. A long time. Yet, he had yet to see past the constant shadow that covered the Dark Man's face. He had never seen his opponent's face, only his truely awesome and evil power. Joshua couldn't even remember what he was doing there, how he got there, and why he was fighting. All he knew that he was there, he had been fighting for as long as he could remember clearly in the vast and never-ending gray, flat plain.
 There was never sunshine, or a sun for that matter. There was no landscape, only a completely flat ground that stretched on as far as the eye could see, which wasn't far. A mile in every direction, visibility stopped because a heavy fog constantly hung in the distance. A vast wasteland...
 His train of thought was suddenly broken by the sound of an inhuman scream that pierced the air. Joshua was already turning to face the sound, weapon ready before his thoughts even connected to the rest of his body and mind. Since fighting did not require complex thought, it was instead a natural instinct, he had the ability to allow his body move and bend as if it was controlled by some other force. This allowed his mind to pull back and concentrate on what he was doing and ponder it.
 As he turned, the cold steel of his sword connected to the equally hard blade of the Dark Man's large claymore. With a quick duck, parry, and roll, Joshua flung himself to the side and past the dark figure. He slammed into the ground, and twisted his body into a ball as he slid and tumbled, finally coming to rest on his feet expertly. He was glad he had kept up his training on Io... even during the thousand years of peace that followed the defeat of Queen Beryol at the Moon Kingdom. All the time that he performed his expert maneuver, which allowed him to take a neutral stance for another attack, his mind had drifted off and was dimly aware of what his body was doing. It had all become reflex.
 He was not in good shape. Mentally, as well as physically. First , the consent fighting was draining him. Yet, in the eternity he had spent so far here fighting... had it been an eternity? He had no sense of time. He could have been there, fighting for years. Or minutes. Or seconds. He didn't know. Any time he tried to concentrate on it and think of a possible answer to his current situation, his mind became foggy and unclear. It was as if someone, or something did not want him to think about what he was doing.. just to do it. In the time he was there, Joshua had yet to question what were his reasons for fighting, how did he get here, who was the Dark Man, and why is it was that, in the whole time there, he had not grown hungry or thirsty once. He had no urge for sleep either. Of course, he was wearing down, but that was from exhaustion, not sleep-depveration. All these questions flew through his head all at once, but yet... every time he tried to examine and answer them, he was "blocked" by fogginess and forgetfulness.
 He suddenly snapped back into focus, just in time to duck a swing the Dark Man made for his head. He reflexively stood and attempted to pierce through the Dark Man's defenses and hit him. As always, the Dark Man's incredible speed had allowed him to follow through with the swing, which allowed him to block Joshua's pierce.
 But this time, something happened that had not happened before.
 Joshua, the instant his blow was blocked, felt something stir inside of him. It was a completely new feeling. One he could not place, yet it felt familiar... like deja vu. It was an incredible feeling, one that made him take a step back in surprise. It was a feeling of strength... of being rejuvenated.
 It was the feeling of power.
 Joshua reveled in his new feelings... feelings of strength and power. As he did, he gazed upon the black-void face of the Dark Man. The Dark Man was standing, readying for another attack against Joshua. As Joshua watched... a new feeling came over him. This one he knew. He had not felt it in a very long time, but like all mortals, the knowledge of what it was, resided in his mind, embedded in his very being.
 It was anger. Pure, unbridled hatred. And it was directed at the Dark Man.
 Joshua did not understand what was happening to him. All the new feelings and experiences... he felt like he was drowning. So he did what all drowning men do. He reached out desperately for the closest things to him. And those things were his feelings of power and hatred.
 The Dark Man chose that moment to attack. He saw confusion in Joshua's eyes, and took it for weakness. He thought he had finally found an opening in Joshua.
 He was wrong.
 Joshua suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream. It was one that ripped at his vocal cords. The sound that emerged was unlike any he had ever heard, or made for that matter. It was a deafening, beastal roar of pure hatred. It echoed through the plain, resounding off of the fog. As he had screamed the Dark Man he began a counter-attack.
 The Dark Man stopped dead in his tracks with surprise. That second of pause was the only one Joshua needed. He attacked the Dark Man, his vision blinded by white-hot anger.
 Joshua lunged himself at the Dark Man with another scream. All complex thought was gone from his mind. All that raced through his mind were animalistic urges and feelings. He wanted to rip apart the Dark Man limb from dark limb.
 The Dark Man saw the attack a second before it struck. In that time, he managed to raise his sword in a feeble attempt to block it. Joshua rushed at him like a lightning bolt, his sword cast over his head like a warhammer. Joshua slammed his sword into the blade of the Dark Man's sword with such a force, that it send the Dark Man reeling. Joshua did not stop. He lunged at the shadow again, with the same force as he had last time. This time the Dark Man was ready for the attack, but it did not help against Joshua's fury. Joshua swept in and began to launch a rapid succession of blows. It took all of the Dark Man's speed and determination to deflect each blow. But with each blocked blow, Joshua launched two more. His movements were a blur, he was a man processed. Each blow devastated the Dark Man has he tried to recover from the last one he blocked. As he did, his defense became weaker and weaker, slower and slower... while Joshua never lost speed or strength.
 The final mistake came when the Dark Man looked into Joshua's eyes. What he saw caused him to stop momentarily. Joshua's eyes were gone. His entire eye socket burned with a fiery, green energy. He looked like some-kind of inhuman monster, much like the Dark Man. On his face, he wore an stone-hard mask of pure hatred. His mouth was locked into a half-opened frown as his eyes flashed and pulsated with the green light.
 Joshua, without pausing, suddenly swung his sword back above his head and over his shoulder. The Dark Man was down on one knee, feebly holding his tired arms up in a blocking position with his claymore sword. Joshua suddenly screamed once more, and flashed with green light, identical to the one in his eyes. The energy absorbed into his arms and sword, as he finally dropped them with the force of a wreaking ball. In a blured flash of movement, Joshua brought his green, glowing long sword into the Dark Man's claymore with his entire strength. The energy in Joshua's sword exploded from the weapon and absorbed the Dark Man's claymore with a flash of bright green. The effect was like touching a positive charge and a negative charge together.
 The sword exploded.
 Joshua was slammed with the full force of the explosion, and became engulfed in the dark energy released. That was the last thing the Dark Man saw before the energy caught him, causing him to launch from his kneeling position and backwards through the air. He crashed into the stone ground over ten yards from his original position. The landing knocked all the breath from his body, leaving him gasping for air as his dark form gave off a faint column of smoke. He had not entirely all survived the explosion. The dark shadow of his hand that had held the weapon as it exploded was no longer there. His dark body armor and cloak were virtually destroyed.
 Fighting of the damage, the Dark Man managed to raise his head and gaze at the darkened spot where the explosion went off. He almost screamed when he saw what was there.
 Joshua was standing in the exact same spot, untouched or unmoved by the explosion. The Dark Man's mind reeled with confusion. The tide of the battle had turned so quickly against him, that he could barely register it.
 "WHO ARE YOU?!"
 Actually, the post-explosion Joshua was somewhat different. He was no longer dressed in the same clothes, but instead in a long, loose fitting green outfit, which was covered in green body armor. The body armor covered his chest, midsection, and joints. The rest of him was covered in the green outfit. Behind Joshua trailed a long, flowing green cloak accompanied by a long, intricate staff which he held in his hand. The top of the staff ended in a crescent moon, with a green jewel in the middle of the inside curve. Joshua's sword was nowhere to be seen.
 "I am who I have always been." Joshua called out softly, calmness emanating from his voice, "I am Sailor Io."
 

         ****

 "SERNENAAAAAA!!!!"
 Matt's scream echoed through the hall. The distance and time of the echoes gave the impression that it was a VERY large room, or auditorium. Matt had changed into Tuxedo Moogle, and standing in complete darkness. He did not know where he was, or any of the details of the room because of the darkness of the place. He had no memory of how he got here. He let out another call for Serena. He did not know why he was calling her, she apparently was not near him, because she was not answering. But yet... he felt like she was in great danger. His mind was slowly becoming frantic.
 As he began to scream again, the darkness was finally broken. Out of the darkness above and in front of him, two large slanted spheres opened up, casting outward a sickly red light as bright as any flare. The way the opened, and the way they looked.... even though they were more then 4 times larger then Matt himself, there was no mistaken what they were.
 They were eyes.
 Matt recoiled instinctively as the thought raced through his mind. His progress was stopped by a solid wall of some type of smooth metal, which was not there a second ago. He remained startled by the appearance of a wall behind him, which he still could not see. As he pushed against it, he had to fight the urge to turn his head away from the glowing obelisks in the air above him. They seemed to stare right through him... and Matt sensed something inherently evil about them. Even so, he could not escape their hideous stare, they followed his every movement.
 Just as Matt regained enough composure to stand without the support of the wall, a laughter, more deafening and terrifying than anything the dark being Traquen ever made pierced the air as if it was glass. Matt covered his ears in a vain attempt to block out the horrible sound. It appeared to have no source, it emanated from every direction. Matt was about to go insane with the overbearing sense of hopelessness he felt for some reason, when it suddenly silenced and disappeared. All of it. The eyes had vanished, the wall was gone, and the sound had ceased. Matt looked around in numb confusion, gasping as he realized he was no longer where he had just been.
 Instead of standing in totally dark area, he now could see. He was standing on the top of a stone structure that appeared to be a pyramid with a flat top. He was outside, the darkness of night pervading the air. He quickly looked around, then looked up. The only source of light came from a moon that took up more then three-fourths of the horizon. Something was remarkably familiar about the moon, that he couldn't quite place. Then he realized it with a gasp of surprise.
 The moon wasn't a moon. It was Jupiter.
 He was on Io again.
 Just as his brain registered the stunning piece of information, his train of thought was interrupted by a noise in front of him. It was a voice.
 It was Serena's voice.
 Matt quickly turned to view the source of the sound. It was Serena. She was standing about ten yards in front of him, dressed in the gown she wore back in the days of the Moon Kingdom. Matt recognized it instantly from Luna's description of it, when she explained Joshua and her's myriad past. Serena began to speak softly, her voice as hollow as the wind around her and Matt.
 "I am in trouble, beloved... He is trying to control all of this. And he is using us."
 Matt attempted to utter all his thoughts and emotions at one time to Serena, who had spoken with such a calmness and maturity that had stunned Matt slightly. His attempt to convey his feelings met with no success, only being able to get out:
 "Wha--?"
 Serena began to speak again, this time the sadness in her voice was as clear as a gunshot.
 "Please... you must help me, beloved. You are my only hope... He will be making his move soon... you and the rest must hurry, if you are to stop him. He will command a specter from my a past time, my time. He will use that to dominate everything. Please... you must help me, Prince Darien... our future is not safe. He has taken over and destroyed many others before us. We must stop him before he can continue."
 'Darien?' Matt recoiled slightly when he heard the name being spoken to him. She thought he was Darien? That would explain why she was called him "beloved", but other then that, it only raised more questions. He continued to gaze at Serena with a look of confusion. She spoke again, as softly as the first time.
 "You must go back. The rest and you must stop his evil crusade, before he finishes it. We are all in danger, beloved... and you are our only hope."
 "I-I don't understand... who is coming back?"
 As he asked the question hesitantly, a sound behind him caused him to turn and look. Standing another ten yards behind him stood another Serena.
 This one was dressed in her school outfit. Matt's mouth dropped open slightly as he turned his head and stared back and forth at the two Serenas. The second began to speak, causing him to focus on her.
 "You already know who he is, Matt. He is the One. The one who is the cause of all of the recent events, Matt. Even you, yourself, he has had a hand in. All the evil, all the darkness. It's him Him. He is on the move now, again. You must stop him, Matt..." the second Serena spoke, using all the tones and inflections in her voice as the Serena that Matt knew had. But as with the first one, a tone of sadness prevailed through her speech. Matt was swimming in the oblivious questions he should have been asking, but instead, he felt an incredible urge to find out what the two Serenas were talking about.
 "You mean Traquen? He's on the move?" Matt questioned hesitantly. He was unsure of everything going on.
 "No, Matt. Traquen is only a pawn, Matt. He is only a part of the overall plan. Matt... you must help me..." whispered the second Serena, the sadness in her voice almost overwhelming. Matt was about to question her again, when a third voice cut in, this one from the right now. Matt was almost afraid to look, and wished he hadn't when he finally did.
 Standing on his right now, was a third Serena. Matt began to wonder if had gone insane at some point.
 The third Serena was dressed in a gown like the first one, except this one hugged her body, instead of flowing outwards like the other's. On her head rested a gold crown with several beautiful jewels set into it. Matt also noticed that this third Serena somehow seemed more mature, though he couldn't place exactly why. The third Serena began to speak with a softness and dreaminess that slightly entranced Matt. But, like the others, her voice held an air of sadness.
 "It is time, my Champion. Soon, he will make his move against you. You and the rest must be ready to defend against him. He wants to take away everything that has and will come. And you are our only hope, Champion. You must fulfill your destiny. It was a legend of future events in the past. It was a legend of events gone by in my time, and it is a legend being formed in your time."
 Matt remained stunned. He wasn't coherent enough to form a response to anything said to him, for the circumstances were too overwhelming. He, instead, was reduced to mearly standing and recording everything the three Serenas said to him now.
 As he stood, dumfounded, the second and third Serena moved to join the first one in front of him. They stopped, forming in a straight line in front of him. The first Serena was to the left, followed by the second in the middle, and finally the third held the right side. The first one began to speak out in a strong plea.
 "It will end in the past.." the first one said, her eyes fixed on Matt's.
 "...what was to be in the present..." continued the second one, starting up the instant the first Serena stopped.
 "...to save the future." finished the third Serena. As she did, she took a step forward and raised her hand to the night sky and pointed.
 "Do you see that blue object up there, my Champion?" she whispered quietly. Matt slowly lifted his gaze to follow her hand. His eyes came to rest on a bright blue star.
 "The blue star? Y-yes. I see it." Matt stammered as he tried to rationalized what all it meant.
 "That is not a star, Champion. It is the Earth. Watch it carefully. The future is what is beginning to dawn..." the third Serena quietly began, casting her gaze up to the Earth. She paused a moment and stared at it silently. Just as Matt was about to ask what she meant, something happened to the Earth. His gaze froze as he looked.
 The Earth exploded.
 Matt gazed in horror as the blue object flashed with a faint blue light, and expanded in a great blast of energy. He could tell that it had exploded. He slowly lowered his eyes back to the Serenas and spoke quietly, his mouth dry.
 "You mean... the world? It will...?"
 Matt's voice faded out. He couldn't bring himself to finish his thought. He swallowed painfully as the Serenas took a step forward in unison, and began to speak in perfect unison.
 "You arrived to the present, to end in the past, in order to save the future. You are our only hope... you must help us. Please..."
 Matt was unable to question the Serenas anymore. One quick event prevented him from doing so...
 He woke up.

         ****

 Matt quickly approached the the closed door and paused. Should he wake her? It was just a dream after all. But still... it did not feel like an ordinary dream, more like a vision. He really needed to talk to someone about what he experienced, but was now the best time?
 It had been five minutes since Matt had awaken from his dream in a cold sweat. He made up his mind that he should talk to Serena about it, but now that he was at her door, doubts began to rise within him. He didn't know if worrying her with what he experienced would be the best thing right now, especially after the shock the entire group received earlier in the night. Matt quickly thought back to what had happened as he stood at her door, questioning the action of waking her.
 It was now about 4:30 in the morning. Four and a half hours ago, Matt had awakened to discover that Joshua had disappear from the house. Because of Joshua's strange behavior early that day, Matt had had a pretty good guess where he had gone.
 Joshua had gone after Ami.
 What Matt wasn't sure, though, was whether it was Joshua or Traquen who was in control. It was 1:47 when Matt had located Joshua and Ami in the forest where Matt and Joshua had changed, and it had been a rollercoaster ride ever since. After having been attacked by some un-earthly beasts, which still no one had a clue as to where they came from, Matt, Joshua, and Ami returned to Serena's. Matt made a couple calls and had the entire group assembled at Serena's for an "emergency" meeting by 2:30. After that, things started getting interesting. To the shock of Mina, Rei, Lita, Artemis, Luna, Serena, Philly, and himself, Joshua and Ami told a story that brought out the following facts:
 For one, Joshua, since the transformation into Sailor Io several nights ago, all signs of Traquen's presence had ceased. No one knew what kind of struggle might be taking place inside of Joshua, but it was apparent that Joshua Derimond was winning. The next shock came when Ami showed that she no longer suffered from any of the effects she had, that were normally associated and caused by the horrible events that happened to her. She appeared to be in perfect mental health. Matt surmised that whatever Joshua had said or done in the time it took Matt to reach him, it had snapped Ami from her devastated condition. Of course, she was not completely healed. Slight pain showed on her face, and her whole demeanor suggested one of complete exhaustion. Other then that, though, she had turned back into the Ami they all knew and loved. The entire situation stunned the group, but not enough so they couldn't shower Ami with stunned hugs and shouts of joy that she was back. During this act, Matt saw two things. They being that, one, Philly seemed to be the most excited about the reconciliation between Joshua and Ami, and Ami's improved condition. Second, Luna remained uncharacteristically quiet and mute during the entire meeting. Matt could not "read" Philly, for reasons he still did not have. So, he could only guess as to what brought on her sudden happiness. However, he could "read" Luna. And he understood instantly what brought on the remote feelings.
 She still had feelings for Joshua, which she did not want to bring up anymore.
 Matt did not blame her. For one, he was her first true love, according to Luna herself. Also, Joshua possessed a charisma and and air of incredible magnetism that had affected everyone in the group, including Matt. In Mina, Lita, and Rei... their infatuation with him was almost overwhelming to Matt's senses. To Serena, she had the same infatuation, but it was much less pronounced. Matt did not want to guess at what might have caused this lessened attraction, but he thought he had a pretty good idea, and that worried him somewhat. To Luna, the affect was oblivious, considering the past she and Joshua shared. Artemis, surprisingly, was the only one to have a neutral feeling toward him. Matt guessed it to be the situation between Luna and Joshua. Both in the past, and in the present.
 To Matt, the effect was slightly different. Joshua and him had formed, almost instantly, a strong friendship. Matt already felt like he had known Joshua for years, though reality had it at only a few weeks. Matt realized this feeling of long friendship was probably due to Joshua's charismatic personality. Strangely, Joshua seemed to value the friendship as much as Matt did, so maybe the charisma factor was also present in Matt slightly. Matt knew, secretly, that toward the beginning of his stay there, the other scouts had had an infatuation with him also. Except, it was not a strong as the one they had for Joshua. Luckily, minor things of that nature did not concern him too much right now, not with all that had happened to him. And not with Serena on his mind constantly. Though he forced it out of his mind, he knew full well that he was attracted to her, but his situation forbade him from even remotely thinking of perusing those feelings. He wouldn't be right... not with what happened to him and Darien.
 At the close of the meeting, Mina, Artemis, Lita, and Rei returned home complaining of the timing of Ami and Joshua's reconciliation. After they departed, Joshua took Ami home, saying that Ami and him had many things to talk about, to which Ami hardily agreed to. As soon as they left, Matt began to wonder just what was between Ami and Joshua. He had a suspicion that what they had was more then what they let on so far, but Matt did not peruse the line of thinking. He had had an incredibly tiring day, for good reasons, and decided to go to bed as quickly as possible. After saying good-night to Serena, Luna, and Philly, he retired to his room, which was really Sammy's room. With the arrival of Philly, room in Serena's house had become somewhat scarce. Joshua had, since brought to Earth in a coma, resided in Serena's parent's bedroom. Matt, seeing it the best for all, moved from the large guest bedroom to Sammy's room, allowing Philly the guest room. He done this this on the protests of Serena and Philly, but said that he didn't need the extra space, and would feel guilty if he enjoyed it while Philly had to take a smaller room. So he switched, and everything had returned to it's semi-peaceful normal state... until that night.
 Matt slowly snapped out of his daydream, allowing all his thoughts to get pushed aside. He was still standing in front of Serena's door, but now feeling slightly embarrassed. He had allowed his mind to drift, but now focused once again on the present. Taking a deep breath, he silently reached for the doorknob and turned it, pushing open the door half-way. He had made it his job to repair the door, after he destroyed it when he confronted Traquen the night of Joshua's awakening from his coma. Luckily, the window Traquen had jumped through had been open for some reason, or Matt would have had ended up replacing that, too.
 Matt entered the room slowly, and stopped as he picked-up Serena's light half-snore. It was slightly unbecoming, but Matt broke out into a warm half-smile as he thought of how cute he found it. He quickly purged the line of thought from his mind before led to other things, and became serious once again.
 Matt decided that nothing was going to come of his standing in Serena's doorway, so he began to move once again. He quickly entered the room and closed the door behind him softly. Taking another deep breath, he approached the end of Serena's bed slowly.
 Through his adjusting vision, he could see the dark outline of Serena's prone form cast over the entire bed. She gave new meaning to the phrase "tossing and turning".
 Matt silently took two steps to the left and up, placing himself on the left side of Serena's bed, near her head. He slowly reached down and touched her arm slightly.
 "Serena? Serena..." Matt hissed quietly as he softly rubbed her arm. He was about to call again, when he finally got a reaction. Serena stirred for a moment, paused, then stirred again slightly. She suddenly called out:
 "Oooo... just five more minutes, Mom... just five more.. I'll get up. I promise." groggily moaned Serena as she rolled over onto her side, facing Matt. He quietly whispered again.
 "No, Serena... It's me, Matt. I wanted to talk to you. I guess this was a bad idea, I'm sorr--" Matt began, as he was suddenly cut off by Serena, who sat up as soon as she heard the word "Matt".
 "Matt? What's going on? What's wrong? Where are you?"
 "No! Nothing's wrong, Serena. Relax. I'm sorry to startle you. I just came to talk... I needed to talk, and I didn't know what to do." Matt replied calmly, making every attempt to calm Serena, who was imagining something had gone wrong again. Matt didn't blame her. It would be just their luck to have another thing happen to them so soon.
 Serena paused for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts, then quietly whispered out.
 "What time is it?" Serena asked herself as she looked over at her clock. It said "4:42". She quickly turned back to Matt, "What's wrong, Matt? It's the middle of the night. Can't you sleep?"
 Matt slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and began to explain to Serena that he had a very disturbing dream. He began to relate the dream to her. When he finished, he realized she had not moved once the entire time he was telling the dream to her. After a moment of pause, she quiet spoke to him again, with a gentle softness.
 "Wow... do you think it means something Matt? This reminds of the time I dreamed I was a hot fudge sundae..." Serena paused and looked up at Matt's face. Even in the dark, she could make out his quizzical look as he stared at her. She blushed slightly and quickly spoke again, "but...uh... I guess that really doesn't apply to what you were talking about..."
 She faded out and forced herself to look at him again. He still had on the puzzled look. She felt like a fool, but suddenly she heard something she never heard before.
 Matt began to lightly laugh.
 It was Serena who had on the puzzled look as Matt tried to contain his laughter. It was the first time since he had come to the scouts rescue on the night that the demon, Wicki, attacked the from the Tokyo Tower.  She continued to stare at him, stunned, then began to laugh herself.
 Matt heard himself being joined by Serena in laughter and looked up at her. He stared at her, slowing his laugh as he looked at her darkened face. Even though it was dark, he could make her out clear enough to see her pretty face alight with laughter. He was almost intraced by the slight bouncing of her bangs as she let out a heart-melting giggle. She looked at him and realized he was staring at her. She slowly stopped laughing and looked at Matt with a puzzled look.
 "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"
 Matt, entranced by the heavenly sight of Serena laughing, was unable to come up with a cover for his staring. So he just said what he knew he felt.
 "You... you are very attractive when you laugh, Serena." Matt said quietly, not even registering his own words. He was captivated by the sight of Serena. He couldn't explain what he was feeling. "I... I guess I was staring at you... I'm sorry."
 Serena gave a start when she realized what he said. Her heart almost skipped a beat as she fully grasped it. Since the day that Matt had arrived and he received Darien's power, Serena had felt strange when she was around him. She had always assumed it was because he was so similar to Darien that she was beginning to take Matt for Darien. But at times like this... she didn't know what to think...
 Matt continued to stare in the crystal-blue eyes of Serena. He knew what he was feeling was wrong, but for some reason, he couldn't think of a single reason to stop the feelings that swirled through him. He suddenly knew what he wanted, and what Serena wanted... and it felt right, so he gave in. He leaned forward and met Serena halfway. He slowly closed his eyes and let go of his inhibitions.
 He kissed Serena passionately.
 The kiss was like a lightning bolt which ripped through him, electrifying his mind. He felt  like he just snapped out of a trance. Serena and him parted lips and pulled back slightly, as if she realized the same thing.
 The kiss had felt perfect... too perfect. Both Matt and Serena realized that what they were doing was not right. They both knew the feelings they felt for each other, but they also knew that doing anything about them at the situation they were in now would only complicate things.
 "I... I should go." Matt quietly whispered, his mind not all focused in the same place. Only part of him registered his actions, the rest was pondering what just happened.
 Serena watched with an incredible feeling of sadness as Matt quickly got up and headed for the door. He turned back once, then quickly went through and shut the door softly.
 Serena watched him go with a tear in her eye.

    ****

 "Darien..."
 Serena slowly wiped away a tear as she placed her head down on her arms, and began to cry. She just hated the fact that he was gone. Even weeks afterward, she could hardly bring herself to cope with the fact that it had really happened. Everyone in the group thought that she was clumsy and whiny... but she knew that we would never know how much strength it took just to keep herself from breaking down in the company of others. The only one who seemed to truely see Serena's pain, and was there whenever she needed him, was Matt. Unfortunately, Matt was probably the worst person to use for support. In almost every aspect of him, from his looks to his actions, reminded Serena of Darien. It was like Darien was dead, but some changed, ghost-like remnant of him had remained. Of course, Matt was a different person from Darien entirely, but there were some very unsettling similarities between the two. And her hidden emotions had been brought out when Matt had come to her with his dream. She was too scared to even look back on what had just happened minutes before. She had done felt something that she thought she would never feel for anyone, other than Darien.
 "Oh, Darien... I need your help..." whispered Serena weakly, as she lifted her head and gazed at the full moon in the sky through her bedside window. She was leaning on top of the window-sill, with her arms folded. Her mind was still slightly numb from what had just happened between her and Matt. What was she going to do? She felt like she had betrayed Darien, and hated herself for feeling the way she did about Matt. She just could not understand why she had feelings for him. She loved Darien with all heart, and having feelings for Matt only made a bad situation worse... so why did she have them?
 "What is Matt going to think?" she asked herself. Everything that she had held onto for support the past couple weeks had just turned completely up-side down. What if Matt hated her now? What if he wouldn't come to her anymore and support her? She would be truely alone again for the second time.
 It would be like Darien had died all over again.

         ****

 The Dark Man was losing, badly.
 He gazed out through the pain in his eyes, and saw again the powerful sight of Joshua standing in the cloud of black smoke that wafted around him from where the Dark Man's sword exploded. The power he felt come off of Joshua now was incredible. He knew he was losing.
 "Get up."
 The command came with such authority that the Dark Man was already moving to stand before he knew what he was doing. The two words had come from Sailor Io. The power that he put into the two simple words was a clear show of what kind of power he commanded. The Dark Man did not understand what had happened to Joshua, but he knew it was not good for him. Before, Joshua was a only slight match for him... but now...
 The Dark Man rose wearily to his feet and sighed in pain. He looked at Joshua, and spat at his feet, as if that one action gave him a sense of dominance. It was apparent that he was running out of options.
 "Dark Man! Listen to me well." Joshua slowly shouted out, power pushing his words forward. The Dark Man forced himself to look at Joshua.
 "Through this entire struggle, we have been fairly matched. One only giving so much ground before the other retaliated. But now... the end comes beyond the chaos you command. Dark Man... heed my words. I am the essence of Joshua Derimond's righteous power. But now, I am helped with the power of his friends trust and compassion. Together, that power has become one unified force, which's sole purpose is to destroy you, Dark Man. I am the Sailor Soldier of Balance. I am the symbol of the consent struggle between Good and Evil. I am Sailor Io. And on behalf of Io, the forgotten moon... I will punish you."
 "I am not frightened of you, Joshua Derimond. Your power does not scare me, and neither do you. Let your friends help you all they like, all their actions will be for nothing. I am more than you, Joshua Derimond, and I am your master. I will be from now until eternity. Your body, mind, and soul are mine!"
 In response to the Dark Man's words, Joshua slowly began to advance the Dark Man. The Dark Man only stood his ground and watched. As he did, Joshua flung his arms into the air, and thrusted his staff above him. The jewel on the staff and the pupils of Joshua's eyes were both pulsating with a dark green light. Joshua twirled his staff in a circle once and stopped. As he did, a large gust of wind slammed into the Dark Man, forcing him to take a step backwards. The wind continued to assail him as Sailor Io suddenly called out in a voice so strong and powerful, it deadened the wind.
 "Io... Fire Storm..." whispered Sailor Io with deadly seriousness. As he did, the fierce wind died. The Dark Man could feel the air pressure instantly plummet. As it did, Sailor Io  paused and stared at the Dark Man. To the Dark Man's horror, he did not jeer nor shout nor yell.
  He smiled.
 The Dark Man had but one second to react, before Sailor Io finished his attack. With a blur of motion, the staff pointed directly at the Dark Man once again. Sailor Io then spoke again. This time, his voice rang with almost enough power to inflict pain. The Dark Man flinched as Sailor Io screamed with all his might:
 "...ANNIHALATE!!"
 With that final, singular word, every atom and molecule within a half-mile radius suddenly ignited in a righteous, seering flame.
 The Dark Man screamed once as every part of his shadow-like body began to burn.

         ****

 "First my pets are stopped in the woods by him, and now he is on the verge of killing that damned fool Traquen!"
 The sound of the words scraped against the edges of the room and resounded with an even more horrendous reverb. The voice was, simply put, completely unnatural. The dark power that emanated from the dark voice was enough to stun any creature.
 The speaker was now on his feet, if they could be called that. His massive, beast-like body flowed like the motion of water. The figure could, of course, take on any form he chose, but he liked to retain the one of the large, hulking beast for he knew that it instantly caused fear in the hearts of mortals.
 Fear was his every life essence. His very staple of survival.
 The being itself, in term of details, was simplistically frightening. He could take the shape of anything he chose, but he always was in shadow form. That was the one aspect he could not alter. The outline of his "body" instantly told of what creature's form he had taken, but any glance at the being itself was met with the same sight everytime.
 He was a completely black void. Like nothingness personified.
 He seemed as if he was created out of dark energy itself. He was as solid as any matter, but he was constantly draped in an impenetrable shadow. Ironically, the fact that he was no more then a black, negative void inspired even more fear into the people that had actually met the ineffably vile creation. He was not a creation though, for that would mean he had a creator, which he did not.
 He was truely the spawned collection of all darkness. The only thing that could be deemed his master was pure and terrifying evil. Nothing else.
 But, like all things, this creature had many labels. He was without name himself, but many had been given to describe him. He had no use for names or labels, yet, he did enjoy one in particular. He was, among other things, a true expert on the the thought process of many creatures. He required this talent to perceive what inspired the most terror into a people. He had recognized, eons ago, that no matter who the people were, one label, one name seemed to have the same affect of fear in everyone, so that was the one he was known by the most often.
 His name was Zeromeus.
 But, such thoughts were of no concern to him, for he had directed all his attention toward the dark sphere in front of him which projected off of it's surface a very familiar view.
 It was showing the battle between Sailor Io and the Dark Man.
 Zeromeus knew that the vision he saw was not really taking place. It was, instead, a view describing the internal struggle between Joshua Derimond and Traquen. The actual battle was nothing more then a struggle between two presences attempting to both control one body. Like a virus and a body's defenses. The vision though, related every factor affecting the struggle in one unified picture. Every hit given to Joshua represented a weakening in his defenses. The gray, unending plain represented Joshua's mind, the thing that held the two presences. The Dark Man, of course, was Traquen.
 But now, things were out of control. Zeromeus was, for once, caught off-guard by the sudden energy that had consumed Joshua, turning him into Sailor Io. He was beginning to prove too much for Traquen. Things were out of control.
 Zeromeus would have just as soon have let Traquen be destroyed by Sailor Io. After all, Traquen was just another dark soul enticed by the promises of power Zeromeus made. He was easily expendable. The only reason he had not been left to his own devices ages ago was the fact that Traquen had become a vital part to phase of the plan Zeromeus was now conducting. He could replace Traquen with someone else easily, but the fact was that Traquen inspired fear into the only people that stood in the way of Zeromeus's plans for the solar system which housed the small, insignificant planet Earth.
 The Sailor Scouts.
 One they were gone, Earth and it's solar system would be his... just like so many others that had fallen pray to his power.
 Zeromeus growled a booming, ethereal roar of displeasure and decided he should act before things became more uncontrolled. Traquen was of no concern to Zeromeus, but the position Traquen was in was of concern. It was that reason alone that decided Zeromeus's next course of action. He decided to intervene and help Traquen regain control of Joshua Derimond.
 Even as he made the decision, his dark laughter erupted again. It resounded around the small, dark inner sanctum and pierced the walls.
 The laughter could have been heard from space.

          ****

 The Dark Man did not die.
 The very air around the Dark Man exploded with the green fiery energy of Sailor Io. The view around him disappeared in a dark green haze of energy. The holy fire consumed the oxygen around the Dark Man, seering his entire body with it's incredible heat and light. The Dark Man had already given in to the purifying energy.
 But he did not die.
 Instead, the feeling of heat and burning disappeared around him. His dark "skin" was pelted by a cooling feeling and breeze. The drastic change caused the Dark Man to open his eyes in surprise.
 He was no longer engulfed in the green flame. Instead, he was surrounded by a tight, flashing, dark energy bubble that had and was shielding the Dark Man from the assault. He knew what it was, and who had created it. He had thought for a time that he had finally outlived his usefulness, but someone must have different.
 Zeromeus had thought different.
 As if by magic, the very instant the Dark Man thought of Zeromeus, the being's voice boomed through his mind.
 *I am giving you one more chance Traquen. Use it well... I have given you the means of beating 'Sailor Io'. His power is too strong for you on this plane, so I have given you a way of getting around his power. You must subdue him. Then, you can merge his power with your own. You will not only control your own power, but his too. Not only will you be able to control him, his essence and your essence will become one. Understand?*
 The Dark Man/Traquen reflexively looked up, then shouted aloud:
 "I understand, my Liege! I will not fail you this time!"
 *No, you will not. If you do, you will not be alive long enough to realize your mistake.* boomed Zeromeus' voice again, in the mind of Traquen. The end of his sentence faded out.. and so did his presence. Just as it did, Sailor Io's firestorm attack ended. The second the green fire disappeared, the dark shield disappeared also.
 Sailor Io was caught completely by surprise by what awaited him when the energy disappeared. The Dark Man was still standing, in the exact same position as before. He appeared untouched by the fire, and, in fact, appeared to have healed himself. Sailor Io took a step back, his face frozen in a look of shock and slight horror. There was no way the Dark Man should have survived his attack. Yet, there he was standing, untouched. Sailor Io felt some of his hope fade. As he took a step backwards, the Dark Man roared with laughter and began to shout.
 "I am impressed, Joshua Derimond. But... I told you I was your better, and your master. Soon, you will understand what that means... Sailor Io." screamed the Dark Man as he held his hand forward. With a flash of dark energy, his claymore reappeared. He shouted out another laugh, to the dismay of Sailor Io, then he drew back in an attack position.
 "Welcome to my domain. You are mine now."
 The Dark Man rushed the stunned Sailor Io, and attacked. This time, however...
 He did not show fear.

          ****

 Joshua wrapped his coat around himself tighter. The night air was beginning to become that of a freezing wind. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued on.
 Joshua was on a side street, about three blocks from Serena's home. He was slowly returning after having walked home Ami. Joshua knew that at least Matt suspected something, but he had no idea of how to explain to Matt, or anyone for that matter, that he deep feelings for Ami. He couldn't understand it himself... but he knew what he felt.
 The night was becoming colder by the minute, Joshua realized. He was not used to the changing climate, but even he could tell that it was much colder in the past few days then it had been when he first arrived. He knew this is what they called "Autumn" on Earth. he silently thought back to the day the group had took him to the beach, saying that they were in the middle of an "Indian Summer", and that the warm day they had experienced was a rare opportunity to enjoy the warm air one more time before it became "really" cold. Joshua had to laugh at that. In his centuries of living, he had learned a great deal about Earth. He found it amusing that "cold" to most Earth-humans happened to be the average temperature in which Io was placed in four-fifths of the "year" there. He even now laughed again at such differences his and these people held. But... the laugh was cut short.
 At that moment, Joshua's heart stopped working.
 Joshua dropped like a stone to the ground. He began to spasm uncontrollably as he passed in and out of consciousness repeatedly. He screamed out loudly as he gripped his head in pain. He felt like his mind was being torn apart. His body had gone into cardiac arrest, and his nervous system was beginning to stop. He hopelessly jerked and twisted on the sidewalk as he thought dimly though the dark cloud of fog covering his mind.
 "I am dying!"
 He suddenly became racked with a seizure, spasmed once, twice, then went limp.
 He was dead.
 But, just as suddenly as it first started, his life functions flared back into life. His  heart began pumping blood again, normally. He took huge gasps of air as he laid, shivering, on the cold sidewalk. He slowly shook off the light-headedness and stood up. It was as if nothing at all had happened.
 But something did.
 Joshua slowly turned his head upward and gazed at the night sky. As he did, the moon crested through the dark cloud cover that hung in the night air. As it did, the light from it shone down and splashed Joshua's face with a shiny glare. Through the glare, his face could be seen. He began to laugh softly.
 On his face he held a small smile...
 And a dark glowing in his eyes.

 *** The End ***

continue to Story 6, part 1
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